Most Influential Latin American Men

These 10 Latin American Men Absolutely Slayed 2015

AskMen has offices all around the world, with their own teams of local editors determined to bring you the content that matters to your life. To complement AskMen's Boss List, which was released in December, AskMen Latin America selected the 10 most influential men from Latin America.

These men earned their place on the list because they affect the way we live and they’re putting their respective countries in the spotlight. They influence the way we see the world and set the standard for what we want and need to do. They inspire us to become better versions of ourselves, to keep pushing the boundaries and challenging the status quo. From athletes to artists and critical thinkers, these boss men redefined the rules of the game in 2015.

Pope Francis

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With his new ideas on controversial issues, Jorge Mario Bergoglio has brought a breath of fresh air to the Catholic church. He has emerged as a tolerant Pope, supporting civil unions between people of the same sex and openly criticizing social inequality issues and clerical sexual abuse.

Yadier Molina

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This year, the two-time winner of the World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals was named "artist of the hit and run" and "best defensive catcher of the year" by Baseball America. He also won his fourth platinum glove and was invited to the All-Star Game for the seventh consecutive time.

Daniel Samper Ospina

This Colombian journalist and writer has had a long career with the SoHo men's lifestyle magazine and has also become one of the most influential people in the country when it comes to the topic of politics. This year, he released the book El As Bajo La Manga, a compilation of several of his columns from the Semana magazine. He has over a million Twitter followers who support him all the way.

Alexis Sánchez

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In addition to winning the America's Cup with the Chile team, Alexis hit an incredible record this year: He became the first professional football player to achieve a hat-trick in the three major leagues in Europe. With that scoring touch, Sanchez is set to become the benchmark of Arsenal for many years.

Pablo Larráin

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2015 was a memorable year for the filmmaker, a native of Santiago, Chile. His latest film El Club was received with much acclaim at festivals around the world and has already won eight awards, including the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival and a Golden Globe nomination. At only 39 years old, this director is already one of the leaders of Latin American cinema.

Luis Gerardo Méndez

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Since the premiere of the film Nosotros Los Nobles, Luis Gerardo shot to fame and has stayed at the top. With several pictures, plays and commercials under his belt, his image has been everywhere. This year, he starred in the first Spanish-language Netflix original series Club de Cuervos, which will debut its second season in 2016.

Javier “Chicharito” Hernández

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At only 27, the Mexican football player has stood out for his performance in the best clubs in the world. This year, he was signed to play for Bayer 04 Leverkusen for three years and —although this move is very recent— "Chicharito" has already managed to establish himself as an elite player, getting the starting job in the team and becoming the top scorer in the club.

James Rodríguez

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Even though some injuries kept him away from the field this year, the young Colombian footballer has managed to be present for both Real Madrid and his national team. He is the winner of the LFP award for Best Midfielder in the Spanish league and FourFourTwo magazine placed him at number 27 in its 2015 list of the best players in the world.

Jorge Ramos

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The 57-year-old Mexican journalist has always been critical of oppression, corruption and unaccountable leaders. Jorge has proven time and again to be a fierce journalist and one of the leading voices in the fight to recognize and legalize undocumented immigrants in the United States.

Alejandro González Iñárritu

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2015 has been a great year for the 52-year-old filmmaker. He took home three Academy Awards (Original Screenplay, Best Director and Best Film) for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and he completed the most ambitious project of his career: The Revenant. The movie is generating award buzz and life could not be better for the Mexican director.